QRG Capital Management Inc. Acquires 20,447 Shares of Applied Materials, Inc. $AMAT

QRG Capital Management Inc. lifted its holdings in Applied Materials, Inc. (NASDAQ:AMAT) by 10.5% in the second quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 215,839 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock after acquiring an additional 20,447 shares during the period. Applied Materials accounts for approximately 1.1% of QRG Capital Management Inc.’s holdings, making the stock its 16th biggest holding. QRG Capital Management Inc.’s holdings in Applied Materials were worth $156,051,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of the company. BlackRock Inc. increased its position in shares of Applied Materials by 1.6% during the 2nd quarter. BlackRock Inc. now owns 80,212,518 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock valued at $57,993,650,000 after purchasing an additional 1,237,685 shares during the last quarter. State Street Corp raised its holdings in Applied Materials by 85.4% during the 2nd quarter. State Street Corp now owns 69,525,842 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock valued at $50,267,184,000 after buying an additional 32,018,892 shares during the period. Capital Research Global Investors lifted its position in Applied Materials by 119.8% in the fourth quarter. Capital Research Global Investors now owns 32,707,049 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock worth $8,405,458,000 after buying an additional 17,829,377 shares during the last quarter. Amundi lifted its position in Applied Materials by 19.0% in the second quarter. Amundi now owns 7,808,207 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock worth $5,645,344,000 after buying an additional 1,246,876 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Van ECK Associates Corp boosted its stake in Applied Materials by 16.2% during the second quarter. Van ECK Associates Corp now owns 7,713,599 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock worth $5,576,932,000 after buying an additional 1,073,879 shares during the period. 80.56% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, CFO Brice Hill sold 7,500 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, August 25th. The shares were sold at an average price of $479.25, for a total transaction of $3,594,375.00. Following the transaction, the chief financial officer directly owned 128,613 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $61,637,780.25. This trade represents a 5.51% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. Also, Director Judy Bruner sold 1,000 shares of Applied Materials stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, September 8th. The shares were sold at an average price of $465.00, for a total transaction of $465,000.00. Following the sale, the director directly owned 25,544 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $11,877,960. This represents a 3.77% decrease in their position. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. Insiders have sold 86,821 shares of company stock worth $59,609,471 in the last three months. Corporate insiders own 0.30% of the company’s stock.

More Applied Materials News

Here are the key news stories impacting Applied Materials this week:

• Positive Sentiment: Bank of America reportedly raised its semiconductor-equipment spending outlook as demand accelerates for AI chips, memory and advanced packaging. Applied Materials is positioned to benefit from increased spending by chip manufacturers. 3 Top Chip Equipment Stocks to Buy as AI Demand Fuels BofA Optimism
• Positive Sentiment: Analyst commentary remains constructive, including a reported rating upgrade and optimism from Wall Street analysts. This may reinforce the view that AMAT’s recent weakness offers a buying opportunity. Applied Materials: Opportunity Is Brewing Again (Rating Upgrade) Wall Street Bulls Look Optimistic About Applied Materials
• Positive Sentiment: Applied Materials and Lam Research are highlighted as “picks-and-shovels” beneficiaries of AI because their equipment is required to manufacture advanced chips. A new ETF focused on AI-chipmaking machinery could also increase visibility and investor interest in the group. Nvidia and AMD Get the Headlines. The Real AI Winners Might Be Applied Materials and Lam Research New ETF Bets on the Machinery Behind AI Chipmaking
• Positive Sentiment: The company’s planned $5 billion, decade-long investment in India expands its research, supply-chain and workforce presence in a market seeking to build a domestic semiconductor industry. The move could create longer-term growth opportunities. Applied Materials Commits $5 Billion to India as Chip Manufacturing Expands
• Neutral Sentiment: Options pricing implies a wide potential trading range for AMAT over the next year, reflecting substantial uncertainty but not signaling a particular direction. How Far Can Applied Materials Stock Move On You In A Year?
• Negative Sentiment: Despite strong momentum and AI exposure, some commentary warns that the semiconductor-equipment cycle could turn lower. AMAT’s premium valuation makes the stock vulnerable if factory spending or growth expectations weaken. Its services business, including Applied Global Services, provides some diversification and recently grew strongly. Applied Materials: Momentum Says Up; The Cycle Says Down What Are AMAT Stock Bears Missing?

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of research analysts have weighed in on the stock. William Blair started coverage on shares of Applied Materials in a research report on Tuesday, August 11th. They set a “market perform” rating on the stock. Morgan Stanley lowered their target price on shares of Applied Materials from $646.00 to $642.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a report on Friday, August 14th. Erste Group Bank cut shares of Applied Materials from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Wednesday, August 5th. HC Wainwright set a $850.00 price target on shares of Applied Materials in a report on Monday, June 29th. Finally, Royal Bank Of Canada increased their price objective on shares of Applied Materials from $520.00 to $600.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Friday, August 14th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, twenty-seven have issued a Buy rating and five have assigned a Hold rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $658.45.

Applied Materials Trading Up 0.4%

AMAT stock traded up $1.92 during midday trading on Wednesday, reaching $474.38. The company’s stock had a trading volume of 4,583,769 shares, compared to its average volume of 8,032,118. Applied Materials, Inc. has a 1 year low of $196.20 and a 1 year high of $739.67. The firm has a market capitalization of $376.47 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 40.89, a PEG ratio of 1.29 and a beta of 1.60. The stock has a fifty day simple moving average of $493.48 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $467.79. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.20, a quick ratio of 1.79 and a current ratio of 2.42.

Applied Materials (NASDAQ:AMAT) last issued its earnings results on Thursday, August 13th. The manufacturing equipment provider reported $3.50 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $3.40 by $0.10. The firm had revenue of $9.12 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $8.99 billion. Applied Materials had a net margin of 30.05% and a return on equity of 38.02%. The business’s revenue was up 24.8% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the previous year, the firm earned $2.48 earnings per share. Applied Materials has set its Q4 2026 guidance at 3.820-4.220 EPS. On average, equities research analysts predict that Applied Materials, Inc. will post 12.78 EPS for the current year.

Applied Materials Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, December 10th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, November 19th will be given a $0.53 dividend. This represents a $2.12 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.4%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, November 19th. Applied Materials’s payout ratio is 18.28%.

Applied Materials Company Profile

Applied Materials, Inc is a global provider of materials engineering solutions used to manufacture semiconductors, displays and other advanced electronic products. The company develops and supplies equipment, services and software that help customers build and improve the performance of chips and display panels.

Its semiconductor products support processes including deposition, etch, patterning, inspection, metrology and materials modification. Applied Materials also provides equipment and services for display manufacturing, including technologies used in producing liquid-crystal and organic light-emitting diode displays, as well as solutions for adjacent markets such as solar and other specialty applications.

Founded in 1967 and headquartered in Santa Clara, California, Applied Materials serves semiconductor and display manufacturers worldwide through operations, customer-support centers and research and development activities across major technology-producing regions.